Maths 

Subject Selection

Which Mathematics Subject Should I Select?

Students from Years 8 to 11 are currently undergoing their subject selection process for 2023. It is important that students and families engage with this process so as to make informed choices about subjects for the following year.

In Years 7 & 8, all students study the same Mathematics subject but from Year 9 onwards, there are a range of pathways within Mathematics that students can elect to study, depending on their interests, aptitude and desired pathways.

Options at Years 9 &10 are designed to help prepare students for the various Mathematics studies available at Year 11 & 12. 

As part of this, all Mathematics teachers from Years 8 to 11 will be making recommendations about which mathematics subject/s students should consider studying in 2023. These will be emailed to both students and parents sometime during Week 3. 

Recommendations are not binding, however they should be used as one factor in your decision making process about which maths subject is the right one for you.

In general, particularly at Years 9 & 10, we encourage students to err on the side of the most challenging level of mathematics available to them. Our pathways system is quite flexible and it is quite easy to ‘drop back’ to a more accessible level of mathematics later on in your studies if that is what is in your best interests.

With that in mind, I would strongly encourage as many of our Year 9 cohort to consider studying ‘Year 10 Pathway to Methods’, which is a preparatory subject for VCE Mathematical Methods. 

We are also offering a brand new Year 9/10 elective in 2023 called ‘The Wide World of Mathematics’. The intent of this semester long elective is to complement the ‘mainstream’ mathematics curriculum, as well as look more closely at the links between algebra and other topics within mathematics (geometry, measurement and statistics, to name just a few) and to explore mathematical concepts that are not studied in the traditional Victorian Curriculum. I would encourage all of our current Year 8 and 9 students to consider this as one of their choices for next year.

If you have any questions regarding your child’s Mathematics choices for next year, please feel free to contact me.

Maths Competition

The Australian Mathematics Competition will be held at the College on Thu 4 August. 

This is an optional activity open to all students from Year 7 to 12.  If you wish to participate, you must enter the competition by Mon 25 July via the opt-in event on Compass. 

It would be great to see a lot of students taking part in this annual event. More information can be found Compass.

Mark Oudshoorn

Leader of Mathematics and 

Whole School Numeracy